Shoe-fastener.



M. L. SMiTH.

SHOE FASTENER.

APPLICATION man ocr. 18, 1911.

Patented 311137 9, 1918.

lNvEN OH snon-rasrnnnn.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July it, 191.8.

Application filed October 18, 1917. Serial No. 192307.

citizen of the United States, residing at Marlboro, in the county ofCheshire and Sta e of New Hampshire, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Shoc- Fastenc.s, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention is an improvement in shoes and slippers and is directedmoreparticularly to the method of fastening the same upon the feet ofthe wearer.

One object of the invention is to provide a means of securing a shoe orslipper upon the foot of a person so that the same will not slip up anddownupon the heel and at the same time provide for thorough ventilationand free foot movement of the wearer.

A further object is to provide straps that lead from the counter and aredetachably fastened at their free ends to the vamp, the straps beingcrossed, and atthe point of intersection or crossing the straps beingprovided with friction material. 7

The invention broadly stated, comprises a shoe or slipper having acounter, a vamp connected to the counter by quarters, straps formed byslitting the quarters from adja- 'centthe vamp backward to the counter,suit-- able fastening means for the free ends of the straps so that theymay be secured adjacent the vamp, one of said straps being provided withan opening through which the other strap may pass, thus providing for'the crossing of the straps upon the instep of the wearer, one of thestraps being provided with suitable friction material to prevent unduemovement of the straps when in use, said strap'sL-being formed integralwith the quarters.

One practical form of construction and assembly will be described andillustrated in the accompanying drawings in'which,

Figure 1 is a perspective'view of a slipper formed in accordance withthe preferred constructionof the invention, and

Fig. 2 is a bottomplan view of one of thestraps showing the frictionmaterial carried thereby, and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view to show the crossing of the straps. In thepreferred embodiment about to be described the slipper shown in Fig. 1may be provided with the usual soie 5 and thep l 6, Secured to the sole5 is a vamp? 'strap 11 is split.

which in the present illustration is continuous'with the quarter 8 andthe counter 5).

The straps 10 and 11 are preferably formed by slitting the quarters 8from a. point adjacent the vamp 7 backward to near the counter 9. Thewidth of the straps 10 and 11 may be such as is desired and it will beseen that they are formed of the same material and are integral with thequarters and counter. The slits which may be generally indicated'at 12and 13 showing the ends thereof'are carried sufliciently backward topermit the straps 10 and 11 to cross over the instep of the user in acomfortable manner.

The free ends of the straps 10 and 11 may carry parts of the snapfasteners 1d and 15. Such parts maybe the socket portions of the snapfasteners while the ball portion may be secured to and upon oppositesides of the vamp.

The straps 10 and 11 when in use preferably cross. over so that thestrap that originates upon the inside quarter will have its free endfastened to the. vamp adjacent the outside quarter.

Tn orderv to provide aineans for holding the straps in their crossedposition, the The strap 10 is then passed through the slot or opening 11formed in the strap 11.

As shown in Fig. 1 by the dotted lines 'one of the straps is providedwith the friction material 16. The friction material is preferablyplaced upon the underside of the strap so that it will not rub theinstep of the wearer as when walking the straps naturally move slightly.Similar friction material indicated at 17 may be inserted as a liningupon the inside of the counter 9. This will serve to prevent the heel ofthe wearer from slipping up and down.

The slipper as shown is well adapted by means of the straps 10 and 11and their fastcnings 'l-land L5 to firmly maintain the shoe or slipperupon the foot of the wearer.

7 By crossing the straps 10 and 11, the heel.

thus they are ample to Withstand the strain. Any other suitable type offastening may be employed for the snap fasteners to provide a quick andready means for detachably securing the free ends of the straps to thevamp portion of the shoe or slipper.

Minor changes inform, proportion and details of construction may beresorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or thescope of a he appended claims:

1. The combination with a shoe having a heel and sole, of a counter anda yamp joined by quarters, a plurality of straps formed by slitting thequarters from a point adjacent the-counter forward to the vamp means fordetachably-securing the free ends of the straps to the vamp, said strapsbeing adapted to he crossed, and friction material carried by one of thestraps at the point of crossing to'prevent undue movement of the strapand to prevent wear of the hose ot' the wearer.

2. A shoe comprising a. counter and. a

taining the straps in a crossed position, and

friction material attached to the underside of one of the straps.

In testinion whereof I ailix n1 si natu're Q in presence of twoWitnesses.

MARY L. SMITH. v l'itnessesz Fonnns'r L. HART, HERBERT J. RICHARDSON.

